Draius Freeman
Life Before the Fight Draius Freeman was always a peculiar person. When he was young he had always wanted to fight, and to get into the military he worked hard in the gym from the age of 5 until he was 18, old enough to enlist. Through out his school life he forced himself to get good grades and avoid the bad amongst his fellow youth. When he could finally enlist he was accepted into Officer Candidate School (OCS). Bringing it Home After 4 years at Luna OCS Academy, Draius graduated, not exactly top of his class but the runner up. He was ranked to Lieutenant and stationed onboard the UNSC Savior, a very aptly named ship tasked with helping in the defense of a far off colony. What Draius didn't know, was that it was New Liberty, his homeworld. In high orbit the ship engaged 2 CCS-class chips at once, giving them both heavy damage (later to be captured by the NLN). The Savior fought through the rest of the battle, until the engines were hit and the ship began to literally break apart in space. Freeman ran to the hangar and boarded the nearest Pelican, waiting for more Marines to follow. When the machine was full he launched from the hangar, minutes before the ship exploded, leaving a trail of debris behind them. Draius landed in the wilderness, where he was immediately apprehended by militia forces below. In the backwoods Freeman was put in charge of a very daring plan to have the remaining frigates (in hiding and damaged) to attack the Covenant capital ship directly while Freeman and a group of soldiers charged the nearest Assault Carrier. The plan was to board and take control, although none were sure it would work. Long story short, it did. Fighting their way to the gravity lift, the human soldiers killed hundreds of Covenant around and inside the ship, before finally breaking down the doors to the bridge and killing the command crew. The problem was they had no idea how to operate the alien vessel. A Marine private was pressing buttons when the Energy Projector fired, taking down and wiping out another Covenant vessel. Continuing doing this, most of the enemy vessels were either captured or destroyed, and Freeman was left in charge of the planet without any opposition. Alone in the Void After discovering that the UNSC ships that weren't damaged had fled the fight, most of New Liberty's people were in uproar at their abandonment. Freeman delivered a speech of independence, being broadcast to any human being in a 3 light year radius. He thereby proclaimed the colony the New Liberty Republic, and began the slow rebuilding process. Occasionally pirate vessels and such would attack the nation, but the real problem was overcrowding as the 2580's ended. Using the old vessels as colonizers, Freeman landed them (personally) on each potential colony to help begin. The first was Greenhaven, a wonderful planet, although a very overpopulated and crime ridden one. Continuing the process of colonizing other worlds the Republic grew to over 20 planets and the overcrowding was controlled. Food from Agrani, materials from Burrow (not to mention a new race), and fuel resources from Pump kept things in line, until the Greenhaven Crisis. Greenhaven Crisis On Greenhaven, rebellious rumors spread, and worldwide riots were occurring. 700,000 Marines and Army troops landed and engaged any target who fired at them, literally sweeping the planet clean of hostile civilians in a matter of days. The incident was widely known across the Republic, but was kept tightly under wraps to any outside eyes, especially after outside contact with the UNSC and Sangheili. Outsiders The people of the New Liberty Republic were steered through the attempted reunification with the UNSC, citing that they were doing fine on their own, and with a threat that they are "never going to be in the UNSC again unless heartlessly forced", words spoken from Freeman's mouth. Pressure As the UNSC, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae became more and more weary of the Republic's actions, it seemed a possible war was inevitable. Analogous to the Cold War, both sides began to massively increase their armament and troop amount. At the end, Freeman's military had over 3 billion personnel, and growing everyday. Later Life and Death Draius lived throughout the Republic's most golden age, until finally dying in 2699. Before he passed, he spent his last days with his daughter Scarlet Freeman, and passed on the presidency to her.